Systems used in conjunction with heart pacemakers or defibrillators in some cases make it possible to transmit data obtained by a heart pacemaker or defibrillator, or their operational data, to a central service center to analyze these data there, and make these data available to an attending physician via a suitable user interface. Some functions of such implants are controlled by software or firmware and are therefore programmable. It often occurs that after initial reprogramming of the implant, additional programming or reprogramming is desired shortly before, during or after implantation, for example, to be able to adjust the implant better to possible health states of a patient that may have changed in the meantime, or to otherwise increase the efficiency of the implant. Such programming or reprogramming can be performed by a short-range wireless data link to an implant, established by a physician with the help of a programming device, wherein the physician programs the implant in the presence of the patient.
However, programming or reprogramming of the implant may also take place via the central service center. To this end, there is usually a data link between the service center and an intermediate patient device which is usually in the vicinity of a patient and can establish a bidirectional data link between the implant and the intermediate patient device. The link between the service center and the intermediate patient device may be established as a wireless or wired connection, e.g., via a telephone network.
A system for remote programming of implants is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,442,432, for example.